Fête de la Musique

Don't forget about it!

La Fête de La Musique has existed since 1982 in France and this year celebrates the 30th edition. This year's theme is geared toward the French countries that are found outside of France : La Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Polynesia. Music includes : traditional, classique, and current.

Such activities in Paris include :

• Orchestre de Paris @ 22H by the pyramid at the Louvre
• 36 Hours for All @ Saint Eustache
• Fiesta Latina 5é arrondissement
• Jam Sessions
• Gospel
• basically any kind of music you can think of, in any form

Did I mention that it is free and the metro stays open all night?!?

So, go out and enjoy yourself and for me too, I'm still in Turkey.

The PatriMap

Paris and the I-Phone II, the patrimap, an app from paris.fr, about walking tours without the tour guide found directly on your i-phone and its free.


It is available in English, so do not fret. First depending on your location, you can search for walking tours nearby, or other directly go to the itineraries page. There are strolls about knights and horses, the mosaics and bridge tours. Also there is a game, for each site you get a point and then there are prizes according to the points gained.

I found this useful as well, because if I am looking for a stroll, it's available at my fingertips! Also, if something comes up in the middle, I can always start back where I ended. Most walks are only an 1 hour and they usually stay in the same area, so it is not like you are walking the Champs-Elysées all the way to Bastille, (if you would want to go ahead).

Another great walk not listed is walking from Pont Royal to St. Michel just following the same road until you reach the Seine, the architecture is great and it is a chance to see Jardin de Luxembourg, the Cluny Museum, the characters of St. Michel, and so much more!

Paris and the I-Phone

I am sure most of you adventurers have an I-Phone or something similar to it, so take advantage of this next series "Paris and the I-Phone". A series dedicated to the many applications that one can use when touring, visiting, or living in Paris!

The first one is Musées Paris, it is free for a limited period and then costs, 0,79 euros. The first page is dedicated to the exhibitions, most known museums are listed.

Clicking on the expo reveals its summary, location, and all important information relative to the museum. It even has a location device and shows directions on how to arrive at the museum!

The second page is dedicatd to all of the museums important to visit, and the third page shows some art galleries as well as auctions. The final page is the catalogs or books dedicated to the expositions, along with the price.

I find this app useful, its like paris.fr in one click. There is a variety of expositions and they change accordingly. If the museum isn't listed on the expo page I can click on the museum page and find all the necessary information. Plus, the location device is awesome, I will not tell you how many times I have gotten lost, while looking for a museum (the unknown to tourist kind).

Check it out! and do not hesitate to comment about it!

Paris by Car

Every single time I walk around the quartier (Opéra, La Bourse) where my school is I see 4 roues sous 1 Parapluie.

taken from parisinfo.com " —or in other words how to tour Paris in the comfortable backseat of a chauffeur-driven 2CV convertible — is an original way to discover the French capital. Choose from themed visits with their highly evocative titles: “Eternal Paris”, “Cinema Paris”, “Paris by Night”, “Garden Paris”…; its “Little extras” (Paris Weekend » and « Gourmet Paris »), and its à la carte walks for all occasions. " It is a little on the expensive side: outings for 1 hour is 54 euros a person, and for a 3 hour tour it is 83 euros for person. Guess, these are gas guzzlers!

Or how about Paris by a tandem (like those taxis we see in Indian movies?).


A modern tricycle powered by electricity so at least you are visiting Paris eco-friendly! 30 minutes = 25 euros, but you have an guide who is dedicated to you and your questions!

Or another eco-friendly idea is ecovisitparis.com, a tour of Paris in a Prius; not only do you see the tourist attractions, but also a look at Paris's green areas! starting price is 80 euros, they even provide services to and from the airport.



Checking out Paris by bus is cheap, especially when it is the transit system. The down/up side is there is no guide telling you all of the highlights, plus it costs only 1,60 for a ride from the starting station to the ending station. Check out ratp.fr at the interactive map to see all the bus lines! You will be surprised how much you can see!


Share your thoughts, have you ever done one of these tours?

Walking Tours 2

This is the second part series of walking tours, Paris has a lot to offer, so it is nearly impossible to post about every single tour that is offered. I am hoping to give you, the adventurer, some ideas for a future trip to the city of lights!

The cute little chimp!

Most people do not come to Paris to see lions, tigers and bears (oh my!), but if you are, definitely check out the zoo at the Jardin des Plantes (metro stop - Gare d'Austerlitz). When I first heard of the zoo here, I was expecting some tiny little petting zoo: but I was wrong. The zoo is not as big as the one at Château de Vincennes which is closed till 2014, but there is still lots of cool animals to see. One of the reasons, Y and I went was because he wanted to see the snakes!

It's an iguana, not a snake, but in the reptile house!

There are even picnic spots and it is not that expensive 6-8 euros! And there are hills etc. Definitely a fun-filled child adventure

For those who love shopping, check out frenchforaday!
The tours are offered in four languages, Russian, English, French and German, and it is like an introductory tour of shopping in Paris, buying is not obligatory. The French For a Day tour includes a stop at a market, a cooking lesson, a shopping tour and then tea hour in the chic parts of Paris (Madeline, St. Honoré and the Marais). Yes the price may be a little steep, of 200 euros a person, but if you are an adventure who wants a
crème de la crème experience, this is your walking tour.

And for those of us, who prefer to take the cheap route, no tour guide is needed for these great walking tours, proposed to us by the city of Paris. I love printing these little guides out and taking an hour to two hours to explore Paris through it's architecture, it's gardens, and it's cemetaries (more to come on this)!

Comments are welcome!

Hindi Zahra

I first discovered Hindi Zahra when I was interning (or rather volunteering) at Rock en Seine in 2008, an annual rock festival held the last weekend in August, Blink 182 and Macy Gray are past performers. I didn't get to hear her concert but I knew that I had to find more out about her.

This summer, I got a chance to see her up close and personal while interning at the Festival de Saint Denis (see other posts). I was in charge of organizing and setting up the catering for her!

For me, her music has a great flavor, and in three languages. Of course she sings in English, French, and Arabic and sometimes in Spanish. It has this flowing rhythmic feel like one is in a café in the south of France or Spain, or a coffeehouse during open mic night. It is like she combined all sorts of music into her songs - jazz, Afro, rock, folk (a Simon and Garfunkel kind of feel). She even writes her own melodies - a rare jem these days.

Check out her video Stand up.


 For the official video, check out this! The brillant colors of the video are powerful as well as energizing and makes me want to "stand up" and dance. The soung reminds me of South American or Native American tribal music as well as her choice of costume.

Walking Tours of Paris

After an almost two-week vacation, pictures of the new apartment coming soon, it is now time to get back to posting!

This week is dedicated to different tours available for visiting Paris whether it  be by bus, walking, bike, segway, or balloon!

Today is a two part series of walking tours of Paris (because there are lot of different tours that exist). The perfect site to check out before leaving is Parisinfo, they have classified each tour according to taste.

The first walking tour is Parisiandujour, is unique because it only accepts groups of 6 or less for a personal experience with a real volunteer Parisian and its FREE! The tours are 2 to 3 hours and there is no specific place they go, you, the adventurer decide where you want to go. They even do tours in the suburbs so if you are dying to see Roland Garros ( the tennis courts), le Stade de France (most soccer games are here), etc. Make reservations two weeks in advance. and these tours are available in English, Spanish and Italian etc.


The next company to check out is Classic Walks with an array of themed walks. Such as the DaVinci code, The French Revolution, The World War II or the classic walk. Most of these visits do not require reservations, but they are not free like the one listed above. They cost between 12 to 20 €. These tours are only available in English. They also have a round trip tour to the D-Day beaches that does require a reservation, and you as the adventurer would see the Beaches, the cemetary, Pont Hoc, etc, all for the price of 120€ a person

Check out tomorrow for the next series of walking tours! and do not forget some great walking shoes!

To take or not to take that is the ?

My husband, Y, and I love going to flea markets and finding cheap little knicknacks that will brighten our apartment. But recently we have been gleaning the neighborhood (finding things in the trash and recycling them).

First, it was the three-tier little bookcase that we were thinking of converting into a medecine cabinet or a picture shadow box in honor of our wedding. It needs a paint or modpodge job and then it will look as good as new!


Next, it was the picnic table that Y found near his work, that fold up into a neat box! There really are no problems with it, no broken hinges and it has turned out be a lifesaver, no more dinners sitting down on the floor!

saved 50 - 100 euros

And then it was the TV stand at 3am that looked new to our eyes, so we wheeled it down the street and carried it up a flight of stairs while my sister gave us the talk about how we would really have to put it to use. Later, I have noticed that there are few things missing, but with some paint it will be brand new.

saved 100 euros

And then it as books during our adventure in Montmartre, and the packs of paper sheets (8 with 200 pages each) saved 50 euros.

We have even gleaned potatoes and corn from the leftover harvest. To check out the French gleaners, watch Agnes Varda's film "Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse" 

To become a gleaner: just remember your eyes are the key and always have a purpose for the item 
+ you never know what you will find and HAVE FUN!